


The Tattoo artist

by zouissexcam



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Fluff, M/M, Tattoos
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-03
Updated: 2013-01-03
Packaged: 2017-11-23 13:29:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 987
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/622691
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zouissexcam/pseuds/zouissexcam
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A reluctant Niall accompanies Harry to the tattoo shop and his eye is caught by Harry's tattoo artist.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Tattoo artist

“I don’t understand why you’re always getting tattoos,” Niall muttered as he followed his friend down the street. 

“I like them,” Harry replied simply.  
  
“Well I like guitars but I don’t have over twenty of them,” Niall said  
  
“Look, you asked me to come along. You can leave if you want to.”   
  
Niall didn’t respond. He had been bored out of his mind the past two days, he’d rather watch Harry get yet another tattoo than sit in his flat and do nothing. He followed Harry into the tattoo parlor, glancing around the place with interest. It was a relatively large place with designs covering the walls. A few couches were placed around the shop along with television sets. Harry nodded hello to a few people as he headed towards the counter in the back.  
  
“Welcome back, zayn, how was your vacation?”  
  
The person Harry spoke to turned around, grinning at the curly-haired lad, “It was nice, relaxing…who is your friend?”  
  
Harry glanced behind himself to see Niall had been caught staring at a design on the wall, “That’s my best mate, Niall. Niall! Come meet Zayn.”  
  
Niall looked over, his eyes falling on the tattoo artist immediately. Raven black hair and thick eyelashes stood out to him from across the shop. When he got closer he noticed intense brown eyes and a near perfect bone structure.  
  
“Niall, this is the best tattoo artist in town, Zayn.”  
  
Zayn rolled his eyes at the introduction, grinning a greeting at the blonde in front of him, “Hello, Niall. Are you getting inked today?”  
  
“No, just tagged along with Harry,” Niall answered, his eyes glancing at Zayn’s arm which had was decorated with a half-sleeve.  
  
“Not a tattoo fan? Too bad,” Zayn looked back at Harry, “What are we doing today?”  
  
“Hadn’t decided yet.”  
  
Niall listened to the two talk, focused more on the way Zayn’s accent made him slightly difficult to understand than what why were actually saying. When they settled on a design Niall watched, intrigued, at how careful Zayn moved. The lad’s steady hand traced the stencil with the tattoo gun, his eyes singularly focused on what he was doing.  
  
Aware that Zayn was concentrating too hard to realize what others were doing Niall let his gaze travel along Zayn’s profile, vaguely wondering why Zayn wasn’t a model as opposed to being a tattoo artist.  
  
When Harry’s tattoo was finished Zayn glanced up, eyes locking on Niall’s for a split-second before he looked away.   
  
harry moved to the front to pay and Zayn began cleaning his tools, “Are you sure I can’t interest you in a tattoo?”  
  
Niall hesitated, considering the option for the first time before shaking his head, “No thanks.”  
  
Zayn shrugged, “Stop by whenever you change your mind.”  
…  
For the next week Niall found his thoughts drifting to the possibility of getting a tattoo. He wasn’t sure if that was because he actually wanted one or if it was because he was so interested in Zayn.  
  
He came to the conclusion that it was wanting to see Zayn again that made him consider a tattoo. Nevertheless he found himself walking into the tattoo shop, without Harry, nine days later. He paused right inside the door when he saw Zayn wasn’t inside, unsure how to proceed.  
  
“You look lost,” A quiet voice sounded from behind him and niall turned to see Zayn leaning against the wall by the door, hands in his pockets, “You wouldn’t be looking for me, would you?”  
  
Niall nodded, “Yeah, I was.”  
  
Zayn smirked slightly, pushing himself off the wall, “Let’s go to the back, to my station.” He led Niall through the shop and motioned him into a chair, “Here to take me up on that tattoo offer?”  
  
“I don’t know. I’m not really sure about it.”  
  
“Tell you what, I can give you a temporary one so you can picture how it will look.”  
  
“Sure.”

Zayn got out some supplies, “Know what you want?”  
  
“Surprise me.”  
  
Zayn grinned, wiping Niall’s arm with a wipe as he thought about a design. Instead of getting out an airbrush gun like Niall had anticipated Zayn got out several paint brushes of varying sizes and a few containers of body paint. He grasped Niall’s arm firmly, leaning in close so he could better see what he was doing as he began working on a design.  
  
The deliberate brush strokes and close proximity of Zayn made Niall hold his breath,not quite sure if any sudden noise would disturb Zayn’s concentration.  
  
The artist worked meticulously, his hands shifting Niall’s arm and brushing away stray specks of paint with touches that made Niall want to squirm.  
  
Niall didn’t know, nor did he care, how much time passed before Zayn spoke, “Alright, I’m just about done.” His head was still bent over Niall’s arm, his breath blowing goosebumps onto Niall’s skin, “Sit here to let it dry. It’ll fade away over the course of the week, scrubbing it really well will make it come off faster, okay?”  
  
“Okay,” Niall echoed, then bit his lip to hold back a groan of embarrassment at how breathless he sounded.  
  
Zayn glanced up, his eyes meeting Niall’s as a small smirk spread on his lips. He took in the faint blush on Niall’s cheeks and his smirk widened slightly.  
  
Niall briefly noted a hint of gold in Zayn’s eyes but instead of studying them further he could resist the urge to glance at Zayn’s lips as the lad muttered something that Niall didn’t quite catch. It didn’t matter because then those lips were pressed against his and Niall was gasping into Zayn’s mouth. Zayn chuckled softly into the kiss before pressing more firmly against Niall’s lips, his thumb rubbing circles on Niall’s arm even after he pulled back.  
  
“Tell you what, Niall, this one is on the house,” Zayn said with a grin before pulling NIall into another kiss.


End file.
